The new year often means new faces at GoodGym group sessions - it was no different at the first group run of 2026, as we welcomed Conor. He found out about our community from a friend who was once a regular GoodGymer and is now warmly remembered. What a fantastic thing to recommend to someone new to a city, or even a country!

Conor was enthusiastic about the running part, yet our group, after a warm-up, squeezed in only a very short and a bit fragmented jog. Steph Ducat, Sevan and Kash were extra careful as the temperatures dropped to around zero, and the pavements became icy and slippery. The quartet spent some time running between the Walpole Park gates, each of which was already closed. Oh no! Eventually, the running team, having met cyclist Andy and walker James along the way, headed to the emergency exit (or, shall I say, the emergency entrance?). It pays off to know your parks after all!

Despite the slipperiness and slippage, we collected a strong team - everyone who signed up for tonight showed up and was ready for some woodchip action! And we needed all hands on deck as we were going to tackle the path between Rickyard and the frog statue, which became totally bare since our woodchipping effort two years ago.

With wheelbarrows, shovels, forks, a rake and soundtrack (early 2000s hits played by a group of girls hanging out behind Rickyard), we accepted the challenge to refresh the path and make it enjoyable to walk on. Unlike our previous session to improve that path, we had to travel quite far to the woodchip source this time - and we were after the freshest of woodchips!

It was probably the first time this season we've had a noticeable snowfall in Ealing - but not enough to make snow angels. We've been considering indulging in the woodchip angels instead - especially as rolling in freshly dug woodchips could actually warm us up. Despite dropping temperatures, the air felt fairly mild, though.

Thanks to the whole team's determination, we've completed the path in just over an hour - and it was a quality one, with a thick layer of woodchip. Great work, everyone!

If you've missed the Walpole Park session, worry not! Next week we're back with more woodchip, more running and more park variety. We will be visiting Blondin Park for a practical workout for the local green space and a dose of hot chocolate at the end. Sign up now!

Steph Ducat ran solo from Ealing Broadway as the usual suspects were away. Early start in cold weather - very cold but sunny. Icy patches on the route, but no ice skating and no falls on the route to Acton Junior parkrun. Arrived and did a small lap around which was in fact the route for the junior runners later. Caught a beautiful sunrise in a freeing park.

Cold but sunny Sunday morning with the sun on the horizon in a frosty park, but this did not stop the 29 children to turn up and run with parents. Volunteers were present with gloves, hats, extra layers and warm coats to keep warm. Some icy patches near the roundabout, but that was it on the course. The ground was hard and the pond was frozen. Alan, Michelle and Steph Ducat were marshals today. Michelle had a new position we did not know about - the one near the logs on the path going up to the top of the park. Joanna was at the finish line giving tokens. Everybody survived the cold and went back safely to their next occupations.

Mr B needed his favourite sofa moved to the next room over to make space for his hospital bed. It would be moving away from his perfectly positioned TV and into the family room.

After clearing the way by helping Mr B off the couch, moving small tables and making sure Mr B wasn't in the path of operation sofa move (he was quite curious about the goings on), Kash lifted one side of the sofa to stand it on its end. Sevan went first through the doors, guiding it through the 2 door frames and 2 left turns later it was in the right room.

Kash gently dropped the 3 seater back to the ground and the pair pushed it against the wall. Job done and they were in and out in a few minutes. The whole thing only took slightly longer than Sevan spent removing and re-lacing his manure covered shoes from an earlier task at a farm 🐄💩.

The first session of the year at Feeding Ealing was chilly, despite taking place at the warmest part of the day. Joseph had a solution for the team, a task to keep them moving and keep them warm. The remnants of a large pile of wood chip and bark would be used to refresh the path into the community growing space.

Steph, Kash and Sevan got shovelling and wheelbarrowing the new path topper. Joseph took on the task of raking it into place, even though he'd recently injured his foot in the orchard. There was no convincing him otherwise.

"I can't sit and watch others work for me while I do nothing" - Joseph

Between the 4 of them, they completed the path in an hour, smoothing out the lumps and bumps of the dirt path underneath. That made the entrance to the growing space accessible to all, even those who are a bit unsteady on their feet.

With the hard work done and the GoodGym team being kept warm as promised, they needed something else to keep that feeling going once the task was complete. Joseph produced a thermos of water, some tea bags and 4 mugs to warm their fingers and stomachs while chatting about Joseph's big plans for 2026 and beyond at Feeding Ealing.

Happoo New Year! What's a better way to start a new chapter than to spend a chilly, but sunny morning at an urban farm, surrounded by nature and good company?

That's how our new joiners, David and Jemma, decided to begin their GoodGym adventure. Welcome and well done for showing up today!

The Horsenden session is a great reason to add some exercise to the day. Iram cycled, Sevan and Kash ran, and Danny and Kat walked a whopping 3 hours from the neighbouring borough to get to Horsenden Farm, setting off well before the sun was up. That's a true GoodGym-style dedication, rewarded by some fantastic nature sights and a wonderful sunrise along the way!

A total of ten GoodGymers, who made it to the session, were assigned two jobs by a Friend of Horsenden Farm, Nick, and they decided to split into teams.

Team Hay (or High?) included the tallest people, working at height. David, Danny and Ash were tasked with taking bunches of dried tree hay off hooks and piling them at the ground level to make them accessible for shorter farm volunteers.

Team Sandwich: Iram, Steph Ducat, Jemma, Thaiza, Kash, Kat and Sevan were assigned the job of making two giant sandwiches. They were first transporting green waste onto two piles of manure, creating a sort of "lettuce" layer, which would then be topped by more manure. The vision resembled a sandwich structure - and you know what kind of sandwich I'm talking about! 💩

In an attempt to prevent their fingers from freezing, the GoodGymers kept shovelling and wheelbarrowing until the green heap was gone. Ash, Danny and David, having completed their task, joined the unit just when it was going to be promoted from dealing with green waste to brown waste. A huge pile of brown matter was more than enough to complete the sandwiches and compress the veg waste into compost. But what to do with the rest of the poo heap? The short answer: move it to the poo mountain!

GoodGymers love a challenge, so without mucking about, and got right into a vigorous race with barrows to the top of the mountain. The ice on the ground was slippery, and despite running with wheelbarrows was off the table, a couple of people still slipped. Luckily, the falls didn't result in any bruises - merely with a little bit of brownness on clothes!

Digging the cow muck uncovered a real metropolis of invertebrates living in rather poo conditions. But their plight got even worse when the robins found out that the lunch was just served! Looking at the birds savouring fresh worms, the GoodGymers started feeling a bit peckish too, so they finished the task rapidly (but diligently!) and rushed to position themselves in the queue for the pizza, coffee and beer. As volunteers, they were allowed to use the indoor space at the Hayloft for their lunch - a real treat after two hours of work in the chilly weather!

If you'd like to join us next month, sign up now for the February session at Horsenden Farm. We are hoping to see you there!